What to do if you have already paid
The first hour matters most if you've already paid. Here's the order to work through, and why shame is the wrong response.
If money has already gone, act now and read the rest later. Speed matters more than understanding what happened.
Do these first, in this order
1. Call your bank or card issuer. Use the number on the back of your card. Say the words "I have been scammed" and ask them to stop or recall the payment. Card payments and some transfers can be reversed if you are fast.
2. If you paid by gift card, call the company that issued the card, with the receipt and the card in front of you. Ask them to freeze the balance. It sometimes works.
3. If you gave somebody access to your computer, disconnect it from the internet and stop using it for anything financial until it has been checked.
4. If you shared passwords, change them from a different device, starting with your email. Your email is the master key: whoever controls it can reset everything else.
5. Report it. File at reportfraud.ftc.gov and tell your local police. Ask for a report number. Banks and insurers often need one.
Then tell one person
Not because they can fix it. Because carrying this alone is how the second loss happens.
About the shame
Being scammed is not a failure of intelligence. It is the result of being targeted by people who do this professionally, all day, using scripts refined across thousands of calls until they work on almost anyone in the wrong moment.
The people who lose the most are usually the ones who told nobody for weeks.
Expect a second approach
Lists of people who have already lost money are traded between criminals. Somebody may contact you offering to recover your funds for an upfront fee, sometimes claiming to be from a law firm or a government agency.
Never pay a fee to recover a loss. Real recovery, when it happens, goes through your bank and costs nothing.
Last updated Sep 7, 2026, 5:02 PM. Free to print and hand out. No permission needed.